


Dilemmas of Immortality

by SirenMYT



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Dubious scientific facts that are based around actual facts, Gen, Immortality, Revelations, uhhhhh don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 00:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4585917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirenMYT/pseuds/SirenMYT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Immortality</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <i>It was a shocking thought: the idea that he had the potential to live forever.</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>What would he do with forever though? He knew that there was a whole world out there and, well, space but... to wander for eternity like a specter? That wasn’t something he wanted...</i></p><p>or </p><p>Danny finds out that he physically cannot age.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dilemmas of Immortality

The rain poured heavily from the clouds, the lightening crackled and was followed by thunder that was absolutely deafening but yet somehow not enough to set off car alarms or cause any immediate distress. 

A lone figure stood on the side walk, pressed against the aged brick wall of one of the older houses in the small town, simply watching as people hurried to get out of the storm. 

The halfa was absolutely drenched though he found that he couldn’t feel the cold, numb as he was both physically and mentally. 

His eyes were dry and he refused to think. He refused to feel. The words that he had overheard were repeating over and over in his mind like a broken record player. 

“ **I.. am sorry, I’ve never seen anything like this before. His DNA is... mutated. And during DNA replication--I’m sorry it’s just that--”**  


The replication was **perfect.**

Each time a cell divided a human’s telomeres shortened and shortened and from what he’d been told... that was what caused aging (There were other factors but...nothing as definite as this). 

And his were simply not. 

Apparently in most humans the enzyme Telomerase wasn’t active in the somatic cells but... lo and behold in Danny they **were.**

**Which meant that his Telomeres weren’t shortening and therefore he wasn’t aging.**

His family had been worried about him for years. His friends visibly grew:Tucker had filled in, gaining some muscle and Sam... Sam had grown taller and her face had narrowed giving her the ‘adult’ look. But him... he hadn’t changed a single bit. Sure maybe he got a bit of muscle but he didn’t grow in height, he never ended up growing too much hair in places where he was **supposed** to have, his facial features hadn’t sharpened, and his voice hadn’t deepened. 

He’d been taking tests for the last year: blood samples, hair samples, skin samples, even **sperm** samples. 

It had been humiliating and **scary** because he was afraid of his secret being outed (but his parents had been worried and he couldn’t just say **no** ). 

But instead of being found out he got this result. Once they had found the tick they had zeroed in and forgot all other variables (very unprofessional but it was a godsend nonetheless).  

He was stuck at 14. It was confirmed. 

The Researchers (they were Doctors in their own rights but he knew at this point what they were to him) had wanted to do more tests... but Danny terminated his participation contract right then and there. 

Because he had signed up to find out what was wrong with him, not to become a **test rat.**

**...**

Immortality

It was a shocking thought: that he had the potential to live forever.

What would he do with forever though? He knew that there was a whole world out there and, well, **space** but... to wander for eternity like a specter? That wasn’t something he wanted...

And so here he was, standing in the rain completely drenched and looking like an idiot (probably).

He’d ignored any and all calls because he **really did not want to talk to anyone right now**. 

“Hey kid? You ok?” Danny’s eyes snapped up in surprise and the owner of the voice flinched when he got a good look at his broken expression, void of any bags under his eyes despite the many sleepless nights and skin perfectly smooth without a hint of acne. 

“I’m... fine,” He replied stiffly before realizing that he was drawing in quite a few curious onlookers.   

The boy wrapped his arms around himself and began walking, not allowing the random stranger to speak again. 

Danny didn’t know where he was going. 

He couldn’t go to his parents, he couldn’t go to his friends... (if they found out... oh god how could he tell them?).

He was alone for the first time in what felt like a **long** time. 

Head ducked down Danny kept walking forward going in no particular direction, his mind completely occupied. 

**He wasn't going to grow.**

**He was going to be alone for the rest of his life.**

**He’d have to watch his friends die of old age while he still looked like a teenager.**

The rain masked what suspiciously looked like tears running down his cheeks. 

Danny didn’t know how long he walked, didn’t seem to care but for some reason, at one point his aimless wandering had turned purposeful and before he knew it he was standing in front of a white painted door. 

Hand shaking he reached over and knocked three times before carefully withdrawing and wrapping the arm back around himself, mentally unprepared.

It took mere moments for a tall man to answer the door. 

“Daniel?” The voice ( **Vlad** ) questioned, clearly surprised.  


“You knew...right?” was the first thing that came out of his mouth. His voice sounded congested, holding back the worst of his tears as he was.  


“Knew? Daniel, I assure you I have no idea what you are talking abo--”  


“I’M TALKING ABOUT THE HEALING FACTOR YOU JERK!!” He screamed, suddenly angry at the older half.  


His eyes were a visible storm, to put it in words. The colors flickered between  neon green and robin-blue as his emotional state fluctuated between angry, upset, grieving, and hurt. 

Vlad’s face softened as he seemed to come to an understanding. 

“Daniel...” Said boy tried to interrupt but only succeeded in letting out a gasping sound that broke into a sob, his shoulders shaking.  


In an unusual display of affection Vlad gently tugged at the boy’s shoulders, pulling him into his arms. 

Danny let out another broken sob and tightly wrapped his arms around the man’s torso. He just **needed** the comfort right now. 

“Why?” He choked out through his tears.  


Because that was the question. Why why why why why???

Vlad simply rubbed at his back and shook his head sadly. 

“I’m sorry Daniel... but I do not know... **”**


End file.
